Nabeel Choudhury
Unit 1 – Exploring Businesses
Assignment Three
Innovation and Enterprise
I enquired to create an individual reflective account that investigates its use of enterprise
and innovation. The business which I have selected is:
Tesla
Innovation and Enterprise – Tesla
Tesla, Inc. is an American automotive and energy company with headquarters in Palo Alto,
California, United States.1 The company specialises in electric car manufacturing and solar
panel manufacturing. They wanted to prove that individuals didn’t need to compromise
speed, performance and enjoyment when driving an electric vehicle in which electric
vehicles will be better, faster and a lot of fun to drive than gasoline cars. Tesla believes the
world’s dependence on fossil fuels needs eliminating and they strive towards a zero-
emissions future.2 Tesla’s initiative, cutting-edge battery technology and electric power train
have bridged the futuristic gap for electrical cars. Tesla is an enterprise as they started off in
2003, unknown to the business world and there was a group of engineers who wanted to
change cars for the better. This idea was quite risky as electrical cars were not fully
introduced at the time when they started the company. The business has been operating for
over fifteen years, and after 5 years of initial planning they released the ‘Roadster’ in 2008
which sold for around $100,000. This supercar is the first car to set every performance
record and still fit seating for four.3 Tesla has demonstrated their innovative thinking by
bringing a product that is yet to be seen on the market. They were successful as they
weren’t afraid to take risks and they persevered by being able to sell around 2,450
‘Roadsters’ in over 30 countries.4 From there, Tesla had designed the world’s first ever
premium all-electric sedan from the ground up which was known as the ‘Model S’. This car
had become the best in its category with combing safety, performance and efficiency. It also
reset the world’s desires and expectations for the vehicle of the 21 st century with the largest
range of any electric vehicle. Tesla has used innovation to have a broader range of products
that can provide an opportunity for higher sales to reduce the risk for shareholders. A
product range would encourage the business to develop their new products by providing a
variety of aesthetics and functionality so that they can continue to appeal to their target
market. This will lead to brand loyalty as customers will be able to have a positive feeling
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla,_Inc.
2
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/about
3
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/roadster
4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Roadster_(2008)
1
, Nabeel Choudhury
Unit 1 – Exploring Businesses
Assignment Three
towards the brand and have the dedication to purchase the same product repeatedly
regardless of another competitor's actions. The ‘Model S’ range consist of the “Tesla Model
S Standard Range, Long Range, Performance, 100D, P100D, 90D, 85D, P90D, 85, P85, P85+,
75D, P85D, 75, 70D, 70, 60D and 60.” 5 Each version has their very own qualities and comes
in a variety of colours such as the “Solid Black, Midnight Silver Metallic, Deep Blue Metallic,
Pearl-White Multi-Coat, and Red Multi-Coat.” Customers are open to choose a colour of
their choice to help them gain a better a connection with their vehicle. Unfortunately, Tesla
is retiring from two colours which are the ‘Obsidian Black Metallic and Silver Metallic’ to
simplify manufacturing and speed up production times. These will only be available under a
special request however; it would be at a higher price. 6 Tesla have yet again used their
innovative by implementing over-the-air software updates for ‘Model S’ so that it can
improve over time. This will help customers to have a sense of brand loyalty as they will
continue to engage with the product while other car companies release new models. It is
not surprising that Tesla lead the pack among automakers when it comes to the use of
cutting-edge technology such as artificial intelligence, particularly given that the company is
possibly the most tech-focused carmaker to date. This is shown within their deep level of
hardware and software integration with electric cars, which is something that other
automakers are yet to adopt. With the success of their innovation, Tesla was able to expand
their product line in 2015 to release the ‘Model X’. According to the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration, it holds a 5-star safety rating across every category which
makes it the safest, quickest and most capable sport utility vehicle throughout history. 7 It
has the most storage room of any sport utility vehicle in its class with seating up to several
adults. It can also be optimised to suit the specific needs of customers which show the
persistence to value their consumers for an ideal family car. 8 One of the innovative ideas
that went into the ‘Model X’ is the ‘High-efficiency particulate air’ (HEPA) filtration system
which is used to protect consumers against the statistically more relevant hazard of air
pollution.9 Tesla tested the complete system within a large bubble contaminated with
extreme levels of pollution of 1,000 µg/m3 and the filtration system brought levels so low
that it was undetectable.10 With Tesla carrying out these tests, it portrays their courage to
make things work while they are at risk. This method can not only benefit public health but
prevent citizens from dying from air pollution as it is considered "the world's largest single
environmental health risk” in reference to the World Health Organization. In their best
interest they are doing their best to make the world a better place with the tools and
technology they have in place. Another innovative idea that went into the ‘Model X’ is the
‘Falcon wing doors’ which is an aesthetic to enthusiastic car lovers. The doors open over the
rear-passengers, all with power and without lifting. It senses how close they are to another
5
https://evcompare.io/collections/various-models/?model_title=Tesla%20Model%20S
6
https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-retires-2-tesla-colors-simplify-manufacturing-process-2018-9?
r=US&IR=T
7
https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle/2019/TESLA/MODEL%252520X%252520P100D/SUV/AWD
8
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/modelx
9
https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2015/09/30/tesla-model-x-suv-5-ways/73102234/
10
https://www.tesla.com/en_GB/blog/putting-tesla-hepa-filter-and-bioweapon-defense-mode-to-the-test
2
